Dry closet



(No Model.) A

' L, B, ROBB. Y

lnmz cLosBT'. A A

Patented Jain. 17, 1888.

I .Il-G-aao lUNITI-:D STATES 4Parri-nvr Orricn.

LUOIAN B. BOBB, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,550, dated January 17, 1888.

Application ined nay 19,1887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,v LUciAN B. ROBE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the countyof Hamilton, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry Closets, of which the following is a specification', reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to those closets which are constructed in such a manner as to permit the use of fire for drying or entirely consuming alvine discharges or other offensive or noxious substances 5 and the first part of my improvements comprises a sealed depositehamber that receives these substances, and also serves as the oven or crematory of the apparatus. The walls of this chamber are preferably of masonry, and are completely closed or sealed on all sides, except where aremovable tile or other cover is temporarily cemented in place, and' where a single shaft or pipe proceeds from the upper part ofv said chamber. One or more privy-boxes communicate directly with this single shaft, and a forced draft is maintained in the latter by connecting the smoke-pipe of a cooking or heating stove or steam-boiler therewith, by which arrangement said shaft is caused to perform the threefold duty of ventilator, soil-pipe, and chimney, it being understood that the aforesaid removable slab or tile is always` to remain in place, except when the oven is fixed up to consume the excrements deposited therein, as hereinafter more fully described. The second part of my improvements consists in lling the lower portion of this sealed chamber with a noncombustible absorbentbed that retains the urine and other waste fluids, afurnace being inclosed by this bed, in order that the contents of the latter may be readily evaporated at suitable intervals, as hereinafter-lmore fully described.

The third part of my improvementsconsists in making the walls of said sealed chamber double, with an air-space between them, said air-space being provided with openings that communicate with the interior of the chamber,

iu order that any fumes or vapors which may pass through the inner wall can be drawn off at the ventilatingshaft of the closet, as hereinafter more fully described.

The fourth part of my improvements com- Serial. No. 238,712. (No model.)

prises a novel construction of privy-boxes to provided with a curved dischargechute, a scraper, and a valve or flap, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed drawings,Figure lis a partlysectional elevation of my improved crematingcloset, a fire being seen in the furnace of the same. Fig. 2 isa transverse section of the deposit chamber and its inclosed furnace. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through one of the privy-boxes. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of said boX.

The sealed deposit-chamber A, which is of any suitable size and shape, is usually built of an inner wall, B', which inclose an'air-space, C. This air-space surrounds the four sides of chamber A, and has one or more openings, c, leading into said chamber, the lower portion of which latter contains the furnace D. This furnace projects through one end or side of chamber A, and has a fire-door, E, bridgewall d, and ysmoke-pipe c, whose upper end is adapted to discharge directly into said chamber. F andf are bearers for said furnace and i e. v p 1rIhe bottom of chamber A may be level, as seen in Fig. 2; but I prefer sloping it toward the center, as represented in Fig. l, a drainpipe, G, being situated at the lowest point of strainer, g. f

H represents a bed composed of sand or other cheap non-combustible absorbent, which bed is carried up a few inches above the top of the furnace D and surrounds the sides ofthe same, as seen in Fig. 2. f z

Y The Ventilating shaftI is carried directly up from the sealed chamber A, and is of such a capacity as to perform the threefold. duty of dwelling-house or factory in which the closet is situated. When located within a dwelling, the draft of this shaft may be maintained by connecting the pipe J ofa heating or .cooking stove, j, therewith; but when said shaft is applied to a factory the smoke-pipe from the boiler may be attached thereto. Communicating with this combined ventilator, soilpipe, and chimney are the privy-boxes K K K, of which as many may be used as circumbe used with cremating-closets,each seat being said bottom, which pipe is guarded by a ventilator, soil-pipe, and chimney for the.

brick, being composed of an outer wall, B, and

IOC

stances suggest. The details of these boxesv are more clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 1, reference to which illustrations shows that the box is adapted to fit snugly against the chimneywall, and has at top a customary seat, L, to which a solid lid, M, is hinged at Z, while the lower portion of said box takes the shape of a concave dischargechute, N, the latter being concentric with a shaft or journal bearing, O. This shaft is arranged horizontally across the box Ii, and carries a solid ilap or valve, I), and a curved bar or bow, It, that constitutes the scraper for the chute. Furthermore, this shaft carries a handle or crank, S, that may be operated by the person using the closet; or said crank may be so coupled to the lid M as to be automatic in its movements, as the exact 'method of actuating the valve and scraper constitutes no part of my invention.

T in Fig. l is a frame passing through the walls B B, the inner end of said frame having a tile, slab, or plate, t, temporarily cemented therein.

The operation of this form of crematingcloset is as follows: The fire door E and slab Iy are first closed up tightly to prevent air entering the chamber A, and the various lids BI are shut down upon the seats L of the privyboxes K, and simultaneous with this closure of said lids the shaft O is turned, either by hand or mechanically, but preferably the latter, until the valve I and scraper It assume the position indicated by the dotted lines p r in Fig. 3. It is evidentthat the closed valveI) prevents the escape into the room of any odors from the chamber A or smoke from the pipe .I in ease the closet should be situated in an upper story.

To use either of the closets, the lid M is opened, as seen in Fig. 3, and the valve I) is turned up to an erect positiomwhich act causes the scraper R to be about horizontal, in order that the exerements may drop through this ring-scraper and lodge upon the concave discharge-chute N. \Vhen the person is done with the closet, the lid thereof is closed and valve I? is again turned down to its normal or horizontal position, during which act the scraper R rakes the excrements from off the chute N and precipitates them down the soil.- pipe or chimney I into the deposit-chamber A. The exerements, paper, and other litter gradually accumulate upon the sand-bed II, while the latter absorbs the urine or other fluids, and thus prevents the contents of the chamber assuming a semi-liquid condition. \Vhen this bed becomes thoroughly saturated with urine and is unable to absorb any more, the fluid then simply percolates through the sand and is carried off at the drain-pipe G. As soon as the chamber is sufficiently full, all the lids M are closed and a lire is started in the furnace D, for the purpose of evaporating the urine or other fluids from the bed II,and causing a preliminary drying of the excrements, which drying is effected in part by the heat l that passes through the sand and in part by the products of combustion that escape from the smoke-pipe e directly into the chamber. In some closets this drying of the exerements or other oilensive or noxious substances by the heat from the furnace may be all that is needed; but in other cases it may be desired to consume them to ashes and then remove the latter bodily from the chamber. To accomplish this result, the slab 'L is knocked out as soon as the excrcments are sufficiently dried, and the muss is then saturated with coal-oil and ignited, or a wood or coal lire is built directly upon said mass, and is maintained until the excremcnts are reduced to ashes. The ashes are then drawn off from the surface of bed I'I through the opening or easing T, slab t is again cemented in place, and the cham` ber is at once scaled up ready for use. During this drying or burning out of the chamber the iire from the same passes directly up the shaft I, and thus consumes any fecal matter adhering to the walls of the same, and therefore the entire closet is entirely and economically purified without endangering the house 0r causing any nuisance in the neighborhood.

As bricks are more or less porous, there is danger of the urine either filtering through an ordinary wall or causing its exterior' surface to sweat and emita very disagreeable odor, which serious objection is entirely obviated by using the two walls B B, with an air-space. C, between them. rlhis airspace collects all such odors and discharges them through the opening c into the upper' part of deposit-chant ber A, and, as the kitchen-stove 7' is almost constantly creating a draft up the shaft I, it is evident that the entire closet is thus ventilated without requiring special attention. It is also evident that the daily use of the closet causes more or less soot to be loosened from the chimney and fall down into the chamber A. The creosote of the soot thus mixes with the excrements and acts as a powerful deodorizer and antiseptic, which materially assists in keeping the ehauiber pure.

In this specification the word sealed is not to be construed as referring to a chamber that is absolutely airtight, nor one that can never be opened; but said word is used to indicate a chamber that is normally shut or closed on all sides, except where a single shaft or pipe communicates therewith, and is capable of'being opened when occasion requires to permit of the excrcta, Sie., being dried or consumed.

Finally, I am aware that it is not new to construct fire or crematory closets with a downeast shaft that admits fresh air tothe depositchamber andan upcast shaft that draws oft` the foul air. Therefore I expressly disclaim such double-shafted closets, inasmuch as they are liable at times to induce return-drafts of air and thereby discharge the offensive vapors into the house.

I claim as my invention-- IOO l. The combination, in a cremating-closet,

of a sealed deposit-chamber anda single shaft proceeding from its upper part, which shaft performs the threefold duty of ventilator, soilpipe, and chimney, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination, in a cremating-closet, of-a sealed depositfchamber, a non-combustible absorbent bed, a furnace, a smoke-pipe, and a single shaft proceeding from the upper part of said chamber, Within which latter thefurnac-e is situated and is surrounded, or partially surrounded by said bed, the smokepipe beingarranged to discharge into said chamber, and the single shaft serving as the ventilator, soil-pipe, and chimney ofthe closet substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, in a cremating-closet, ofthe deposit-chamber A, surrounded by outer Walls,l B, inner wal ls, B', and air-space C, openings c c being provided in said inner walls, and a single shaft, I, being applied to the npper part-of said chamber in order that the air- I chamber, Which shaft has a series of privyboxes attached thereto at different levels and has the smoke-pipe of a cooking, heating, or 4 steam apparatus leading into it, for the purpose described.

5. A crematingcloset provided with a privy-y box having a valve, P, rigidly connected to the bowscraper R, which latter rakes the eX- creta from off the concave discharge-chute N of said box, as herein described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LUCIAN B. ROBB.

Viitnesses:

J Mns H. LAYMAN, S. S. CARPENTER.

Y. u 1t is hereby eertied that in Letters PatentNo. 376,550, granted January 17, 1888,

upon the application of Lucian B.`Robb, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for an improvement in fDry Closets,77 an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: In line 32, page 1,'the Word fixed should have been printed fired; and

Vfthat thev said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the saine may yconform to the record of the ease in the Patent Office.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 24th day of January, A. D. 1888.

D. L. HAWKINS,

Acting Secretary of the Interior.

. [SEAL] Gountersigned BENTON J. HALL,

Commissioner of Patents. 

